An endoscope is a medical instrument used for examining and treating internal body parts such as the alimentary canals, airways, the gastrointestinal system, and other organ systems. Conventional endoscopes have a flexible tube carrying a fiber optic light guide for directing light from an external light source situated at a proximal end of the tube to a distal tip. Also, most endoscopes are provided with a channel, through which medical devices, such as forceps, probes, and other tools, may be passed. Further, during an endoscopic procedure, fluids, such as water, saline, drugs, contrast material, dyes, or emulsifiers are often introduced or evacuated via the flexible tube. A plurality of channels, one each for introduction and suctioning of liquids, may be provided within the flexible tube.
Endoscopes have attained great acceptance within the medical community, since they provide a means for performing procedures with minimal patient trauma, while enabling the physician to view the internal anatomy of the patient. Over the years, numerous endoscopes have been developed and categorized according to specific applications, such as cystoscopy, colonoscopy, laparoscopy, upper GI endoscopy among others. Endoscopes may be inserted into the body's natural orifices or through an incision in the skin.
Endoscopes, such as colonoscopes, that are currently being used, typically have a front camera for viewing the internal organ, such as the colon, an illuminator for illuminating the field of view of the camera, a fluid injector for cleaning the camera lens and sometimes also the illuminator and a working channel for insertion of surgical tools, for example, for removing polyps found in the colon. The illuminators commonly used are fiber optics which transmit light, generated remotely, to the endoscope tip section.
In more currently developed endoscopes, discrete illuminators, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), have been incorporated in an endoscope tip for providing illumination.
While discrete illuminators, such as LEDs, provide the illumination required for enabling operation of the endoscope, they also produce heat during their operation. The heat produced may harm the internal organs of a patient being operated upon. Hence, there is need for a system and method of operating the LEDs so that a minimal amount of heat is produced while still obtaining a threshold level of illumination. There is also a need for providing a temperature modulated endoscope tip visual indicator.
Additionally, navigating an endoscope through a patient's body can be confusing and is made challenging by virtue of not knowing precisely where the tip of the endoscope may be located at any given point in time. Accordingly, there is a need for endoscopic system that can provide a physician with an indication of where the endoscope tip may be located in a patient during a procedure.